Analysis of Welty’s Works

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A Brief Analysis of Eduora Welty’s Works

In the hands of a proficient author a short story is a powerful instrument. Though some authors write short stories simply to entertain their audience, there are many authors who see the short story as a tool. These authors choose to use the brief but capturing medium that a short story offers as a catalyst to reveal a specific message or moral to their audience. Most readers are accustomed to authors using this method of dispensing ideas and have come to expect some type of message or purpose to be obvious within the content of what they read. Unfortunately, this has, in some aspects, made many readers lazy and unimaginative and when a short story’s purpose is not so obvious, it often has the effect of making the reader feel that the story was pointless. Someone who has read a short story by Eudora Welty often responds in that very way, feeling that the story served no purpose.

Readers of Welty commonly have first impressions of her stories as being unrealistic, inane, obscure, and simply a waste of time. Many often feel that her stories serve little purpose other than to entertain Welty herself. Of course there is much truth in that Welty writes to express and therefore amuse herself, but her stories are much more than simply her own artistic musings. Although the majority of Welty’s writings take place in the same geographical region and is targeted to a specific audience, her writings are truly intended for all audiences and are filled with substance that most anyone can enjoy. What Welty’s readers frequently do not realize is that the story will only be as entertaining as they will allow it to be, and the story’s purpose remains hidden simply because they let it.

While much of Welty’s writings seem targeted to a specific audience, few of her works actually require a prior acquaintance to the subject matter. Though the content and characters change throughout...